"Randy Scouse Git" is a song written by

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop- rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunion ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and recorded by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

. It was the first song written by Dolenz to be commercially released, and it became a number 2 hit in the UK where it was retitled "Alternate Title" after the record company (RCA) complained that the original title was actually somewhat " rude to British audience". Dolenz took the song's title from a phrase he had heard spoken on an episode of the British television series '' Till Death Us Do Part'', which he had watched while in England. The song also appeared on ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

'' TV series, on their album ''

Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

,'' and on several "Greatest Hits" albums.

Peter Tork Peter Halsten Thorkelson (February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019), better known by his stage name Peter Tork, was an American musician and actor. He was best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the Monkees and a co-star of the TV ...

said that it was one of his favorite Monkees tracks.

Background

In February 1967,

and

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

were in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

threw a party for the Monkees in London. According to Dolenz, the song was written about this party held at the Speakeasy nightclub. There are references in the song to the Beatles ("the four kings of EMI") and to other party attendees such as

Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

("the girl in yellow dress"), and Dolenz's future wife ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' "disc girl"

Samantha Juste Samantha Juste (born Sandra Slater; 31 May 1944 – 5 February 2014) was a British model and television presenter who appeared in the mid-1960s as the "disc girl" on the BBC television programme ''Top of the Pops''. In 1968, she married Micky ...

("She's a wonderful lady"), ("the being known as Wonder Girl"). The verses and chorus do not relate to each other, with the verses whimsically describing the party and the chorus consisting of abuse being hurled at the narrator. As Nesmith told ''Melody Maker'' in 1997, "The old establishment was going, 'Why don't you cut your hair,' and 'Alternate Title' was a rail against that." The title of song, "Randy Scouse Git", translates to American English as "horny, Liverpudlian jerk", according to Dolenz. The phrase was taken from the 1960s British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' Till Death Us Do Part'', in which it was regularly used by the loud-mouthed main character Alf Garnett, played by

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

actor

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...

, to insult his Liverpudlian ("

Scouse Scouse (; formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English) is an accent and dialect of English associated with Liverpool and the surrounding county of Merseyside. The Scouse accent is highly distinctive; having been influenced he ...

") son-in-law, played by Tony Booth. The show was later adapted into the American sitcom ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', in which the writers replaced the phrase in American scripts with the epithet "

Meathead Meathead may refer to: *Matt Mitrione, an American mixed martial artist, and former NFL football player *Michael Stivic, a character on the American sitcom ''All in the Family'' * Meathead (''Tom and Jerry''), a grayish brown alley cat who first ...

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

in England told the band that they would not release the song unless it was given an "alternate title". By his own account, Dolenz said "OK, 'Alternate Title' it is". Paul Du Noyer, ''Liverpool – Wondrous Place: From the Cavern to the Capital of Culture'', Random House, 2012, p. 86
/ref> The song is played by all four Monkees with Dolenz on vocals, drums and timpani, Davy Jones on backing vocals,

Mike Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

on guitar,

on piano and organ, and producer Chip Douglas (

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

) on bass guitar. Dolenz reprises lyrics from the song in "Love's What I Want", a bonus track to the 2016 Monkees album '' Good Times!'' ("Why don't you be like me? Why don't you stop and see? Why don't you hate who I hate kill who I kill to be free?").

Personnel

The Monkees: *

: lead vocal, drums, timpani *

: organ, piano, backing vocals *

: electric guitar, backing vocals * Davy Jones: backing vocals, percussion with: * Chip Douglas: bass

Charts

Cover versions

Carter USM Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les "Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style o ...

covered the song as a B-side to the 1990 “Anytime Anyplace Anywhere” single. *

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English two-tone and ska band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary, '' Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at their most popular during the early 1 ...

covered the song on their 1997 album '' Heavy Petting.'' *Dolenz re-recorded the song on his 2012 album, ''Remember''. *

The Orwells The Orwells are an American rock band from Elmhurst, a suburb west of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The members include Mario Cuomo (vocals), Dominic Corso (guitar), Grant Brinner (bass), and Henry Brinner (drums). Their debut album ''Reme ...

released a version to their fan mailing list on December 25, 2016.

References

{{The Monkees 1967 singles 1967 songs Obscenity controversies in music Self-censorship The Monkees songs Till Death Us Do Part Songs written by Micky Dolenz Songs about the Beatles Songs about Liverpool